Girdle



M. GODBOUT Oct. 31, 1950 GIRDLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 31, 1949 1%zarice Oct. 31,- 1950 M, GODBQUT 2,527,543

GIRDLE Filed Jan. 31, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JVLZLU'Z'ce GoaZolLZ' 21 3 i atentecl Oct. 31,

OFFICE GIRDLE Maurice Godbout, Quebec, QuebemCanada, alsignor to Dominion Corset Company Limited,

Quebec, Quebec, Canada Application January 31, 1949, Serial No. 73,712

3 Claims.

This invention relates to foundation garments and more particularly to improvements in the arrangement of the panels forming the front portion of a girdle.

The particular object of this invention is to provide the front of the girdle with a novel arrangement of elastic inserts between inelastic panels which will permit stretch of the front in a circumferential direction to thereby improve breathing facilities when the wearer assumes a sitting position.

Proceeding now to a more detailed description of the invention, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the front portion ofa girdle embodying the features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the back portion of the girdle show in Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a portion of the lower panel broken away to disclose the complete upper panel.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

Fig. 1 discloses a front view of a girdle having a central inelastic panelgenerally indicated at 6, the upper'portion of which extends a substantial distance across the front of the garmentadjacent. its upper edge and narrows; toward the mid-sectionof the garment. Th e side edges of 'saidupper portionareconcavely curved in the upper section as indicated at hand convexly curved in the lower section asindicated at 8, narrowing the upper portion'of said panel to substantially midway between the upper. and lower extremities of the girdle. The lower. portion of panel 6 is divided into two spaced apart panel strips 6b and 6c the inner edges 9 of which extend downwardly and outwardly for a substantial distance from the mid section of the girdle and then inwardly to meet the base of the girdle in spaced apart relation to each other. The outer side edges ID of panel strips 6b and 6c are convexly curved from the mid section to the base of the girdle. y 'f Inelastic front panels I I extend fromtop to bottom of the girdle on either side of central panel 6. The inner side" edgev of each'panel I I is curved inthe upper section, as indicated at I2,

complementary to adjacent side edge 1 of panel secured to the adjacent lower extremities of panel strips 6b and as indicated at I5. Elastic inserts I6 shaped to conform with the curved edges indicated at 8 and ID of panel 6 and edge I4 of panel I I are secured to the aforementioned edges of said panels, anda pentagonal elastic insert I'l conforming to the inner edges 9 of panel strips 612 and 6c is secured to said panel strips along their inner edges. Panels I6 and I! are stretchable in the circumferential direction of the garment,

The elastic inserts I6I6 are arranged on either side of the central panel 6 and its extension strips 6b and 6c and between side panels II to permit a flexibility of the front of the girdle which heretofore has not been attained in the conventional garment. Also the elastic insert I'l imparts a flexibility to the panel strips 61) and 60 which allows said strips to be stretched apart when the lower section is drawn over the hips of the wearer. The shape of the inserts as well as their positions in the front of the girdle, permit expansion of the front portion in the circumferential direction when the wearer assumes a sitting position. This circumferential stretch greatly facilitates breathing when the wearer is in a sitting position. This will become more apparent with'the realization that the conventionalinelastic front girdle is intended to restrict expansion of the abdomen when the wearer is in a standing position. When the wearer assumes a sitting'position no provision is made in the front of the girdle for the normal spread of the :torso in th lower region. Thus the front of the girdle ordinarily compresses the abdomen and thereby restricts normal breathing. With the present stretchable front flexible expansion takes place during the spread of the torso and this flexibility continues after the wearer is seatedto facilitate normal breathing.

' In Figs. 2, 3 and 4 I have shown views of the rear of the girdle having an upper panel 20 and a lower panel 2| overlapping the lower portion of said'upper panel. Panels 20 and 2| are secured along their side edges to the adjacent side edges .of; side forming elastic panels 22. Panels 22 ex- .tend from top to bottom of the girdle and are secured to the front of the girdle along the outer side edges of inelastic panels I I.- The stretch of panels 22 is in the circumferential direction 0 the girdle.

and lower sections 24 and 25. Lower section 25 is of inelastic material and has concavely curved upperand lower edges 25 and 21. Upper section 24 is of elastic material adapted to stretch in the circumferential direction of the girdle and has a convexly curved lower edge 28 which is secured to the upper edge 26 of inelastic section 25.

The lower panel 2| of inelastic material overlaps a substantial portion of upper panel 20 and extends to the base of the girdle at the rear. Panel 2! is provided with a V-shaped elastic insert 29 located centrally adjacent its upper edge to permit circumferential stretch of panel 2| in the upper section thereof.

When the girdle is worn upper panel 20 is tightly fitted about the back of the wearer in the lumbar region, while the lower panel is snugly fitted over the back and hips below the lumbar region with its upper portion overlapping a substantial portion of the upper panel but not in snug engagement therewith. The overlapping portions of the two panels 20 and 2i are secured together along their vertical side edges adjacent elastic side sections 22 but their transverse edges are unattached to permit a telescopic action in which the one panel is movable relative to the other.

When the wearer stoops or sits down elongation of the girdle in the back portion is freely permitted by telescopic spreading action of the upper and lower panels, the former remaining in its position about the waist of the wearer and the latter remaining in its position about the lower back and hip portions of the wearer. When assuming a standing position the said panels will slide together in a telescopic action. Thus it will be seen that the upper and lower panels of the back portion of the girdle will automatically remain in their proper relation about the body of the wearer regardless of the postures assumed by the wearer.

It will be noted that the lower edge of upper panel 20 is concavely curved to hug the back in the curved in portion of the body below the waist line to prevent the falling seam from forming an unsightly bulge which would be readily detectable through dresses. The upper edge of lower panel 2| is also concavely curved and is located opposite the curved in portion of the back at approximately the waist line. This upper edge of panel 2| is, however, prevented from clinging to the curved in portion of the back by reason of the stretchable insert 29. This stretch tends to create vertical lines to the lower panel 2| and to thereby eliminate the swayback appearance in cases where sway-back would otherwise be noticeable. The inverse arrangement of the overlapping edges of the panels permits a smoother movement of the telescopic sections and eliminates possible interference at the edge of one panel with the other during telescopic movements.

A pair of stiffening members 30 extend from top to bottom of panel 20 and are suitably spaced apart in the central portion of the panel. A second pair of stiffening members 3| are arranged at either sides of panel 20 to extend downwardly into that portion of panel 2| directly below the overlapping region. A third pair of stiffening members 32 extend from top to bottom in the central portion of panel 2i. Members 32 are spaced so as to avoid overlapping the members 30 in panel 20.

The novel features of the back portion of the girdle described herein are not claimed in the instant application and constitute the subject matter of a separate application filed January 31, 19 19 under Serial No. 73,825 in the name of Fernand Desrochers.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

I claim:

1. A girdle of the character described comprising a front portion, a back portion and elastic side portions havin their side edges secured to the adjacent side edges of said front and rear portions, said front portion having a central panel being of substantial width in the upper section adjacent the upper edge of the girdle and narrowing toward the mid-section of the girdle and presenting side edges which are concavely curved from the upper edge for a substantial portion of the upper section and then reversely curved to provide inturned side edges toward the mid-section of the girdle, a pair of panel strips extending downwardly and outwardly from the mid-section to the bottom of the girdle, said panel strips being arranged in spaced relation to each other with their inner side edges meeting at their upper ends in the mid-section of the girdle and their outer side edges convexly curved from the bottom to the mid-section of the girdle to provide an inturned side edge toward the mid-section of the girdle, a pair of side panels extending from top to bottom of the front of the girdle at either side of the central panel, each of said side panels being directly secured to the adjacent side edges of the central panel along the concave portion thereof and having the remainder of its side edge concavely curved with its lower extremity secured to the lower extremity of the adjacent panel strip, elastic insert panels secured to the convex side edges of the central panel and panel strip and the opposing concave edge of the side panel, and a further elastic insert secured to the inner side edges of said panel strips, said elastic inserts conjointly serving to permit expansion of the front portion in the circumferential direction of the girdle.

2. A girdle according to claim 1, in which the elastic side portions of the girdle are arranged to stretch in the circumferential direction of the girdle. v

3. A girdle according to claim 1, in which said panel strips extend downwardly and outwardly for a substantial distance from the mid-section of the girdle and then inwardly. to meet the bottom of the girdle in spaced relation to each other.

MAURICE GODBOUT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date I 1,565,807 Levy Dec. 15, 1925 1,710,460 Rose Apr. 23, 19 29 2,295,607 Rosner Sept. 15, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 884,924 France May 10, 1943 

